Are you going mad with that tinnitus in your ears? Find out what causes tinnitus and whether you may have inherited it.
What is tinnitus?
A ringing, buzzing, or droning in the ears with no external cause of the noise is a condition called tinnitus. The term tinnitus translates to “ringing like a bell.”
How will tinnitus affect my day to day living?
Tinnitus can interrupt personal connections in many annoying ways. It’s not a disease in and of itself, but it’s a symptom of other conditions or conditions in your life like hearing loss or injury. You may hear tinnitus in one ear or both ears and it can impede your ability to concentrate.
Tinnitus is always disruptive regardless of how it’s manifesting. influence your sleep and even trigger anxiety and depression.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be constant or temporary. Short term types of tinnitus are normally triggered by extended exposure to loud sounds, such as a rock concert. Tinnitus has been known to manifest with a few different medical conditions.
A few of the conditions that might play host to tinnitus include:
- Teeth grinding (bruxism) related to a TMJ disorder
- Changes in the structure of the ear bone
- Exposure to loud sound for sustained time periods
- A benign tumor, called acoustic neuroma, grows on cranial nerve
- Accumulation of excessive earwax
- Inner ear infections
- Various medications
- Age-related hearing loss
- Anxiety or depression
- Injuries that affect nerves of the ear
- Meniere’s Disease
- Trauma to the neck or head
- Inner ear cell damage and irritation of the fragile hairs used to conduct sound, causing random transmissions of sound to your brain
Could I have inherited this ringing in my ears from my parents?
In general, tinnitus isn’t an inherited condition. However, your genetics can play a part in this symptom. You can, as an example, inherit a tendency for your ear bone to change. These changes are related to irregular bone growth that can be passed down through family lines. Here are some other conditions you may have inherited that can result in tinnitus:
- Being predisposed to depression or anxiety
- Certain diseases
- Being prone to inner ear infections or wax build-up
The ringing in your ear is not directly inheritable, but you might have been genetically predisposed to the conditions that are breeding grounds for tinnitus.
If you have a history of tinnitus in your family, it’s truly in your best interest to schedule an appointment with us so we can assess your hearing.